Clearly the two men have a difference of opinion on the matter of whether Doctor Who is for grown ups or not; more than likely, Fry was misquoted/placed out of context, with his words possibly referring to the plaudits received by BBC One’s Saturday night family shows acting as a barrier to more progressive, grown-up drama being produced.

If so, Fry has got a point. As for Steven Moffat:

“The attempt to create an argument between myself and Stephen Fry is laughable.”

He’s right. The Doctor Who Executive Producer is also naturally aware of the magnitude of the task of looking after the series, likening the Doctor to some of Britain’s greatest heroes.

“It may be that it might have to rest one day but I think it will outlive most of the people living in Britain at the moment.”

A long-term Doctor Who fan, Christian grew up watching the show and has early memories of the Graham Williams era. His favourite stories are Inferno, The Seeds of Doom and Human Nature (although The Empty Child, Blink and Utopia all come close). When he’s not bossing around the news team, Christian is a freelance writer specialising in mobile technology and domestic computing, and enjoys classic rock, cooking and spending time in the countryside with his wife and young children. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.